One of CSI's Original Stars to Exit This Season

Another day, another departure by a longtime CBS star.Paul Guilfoyle, who has starred as Captain Jim Brass on CSI since the pilot, will leave the show this season, TVGuide.com has confirmed.Guilfoyle is one of only two actors who have been ...

Paul Guilfoyle, who has starred as Captain Jim Brass on CSIsince the pilot, will leave the show this season, TVGuide.com has confirmed.

Guilfoyle is one of only two actors who have been with the long-running procedural since the pilot, the other being George Eads. According to The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported the news, it was the producers' decision to end the character's storyline in the May 7 season finale.

The actor reportedly made an emotional farewell speech last week during the final day of production shortly after he was informed he would not be returning. "Paul made Capt. Brass a standout character," CSI exec producers Carol Mendelsohn and Don McGill said in a statement obtained by THR. "He is not just an original cast member, he is an original. In a show about forensics, fans always looked forward to the handcuffs coming out, and Capt. Brass putting his spin on the crime of the week, just as Paul Guilfoyle put his indelible stamp on the character and the show. He will be missed."

CSI was renewed earlier this month for its 15th season. The series airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on CBS.